Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
I'd want legal immigration to be much easier, so people aren't forced to come into the country through illegitimate means. I'd also want a means for all undocumented immigrants in the country to become citizens, but if they a commit serious crime they get immediately deported.
edited 11th Apr '18 7:41:36 PM by Fourthspartan56
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Abolishing Private Prisons would also go a long way, as well.
This response
to an ICE Career add made me laugh.
Do you want an easy peezy badge and a gun?
Have you been turned down everywhere else for a job?
Johnny can’t get up?
Do you have an ego and low self esteem?
Authority complex?
Can you do 5th grade reading?
Mood swings?
@IC Egov Careers has a job for you
edited 11th Apr '18 7:56:35 PM by megaeliz
Sounds like the best way to go about it to me, add in addressing Asylum seekers and your good to go, imgration courts should not be holding life and death hearings as is.
edited 11th Apr '18 8:02:18 PM by Imca
![]()
![]()
Also, not having two year olds represent themselves in said immigration courts
would also be a good thing. (Last Week Tonight, and very worth a watch)
Immigration Courts really need serious reform, now that I think about it.
Abolishing Private Prisons would also go a long way.
And since we're throwing ideas out, we should also really be addressing the actually relevant issue of Visa Overstays.
- 2000: 1.3 million
- 2006: 1 million
- 2010: 400000
- 2017: 300000
Currently we have a net negative immigration rate...more people leave than people who cross.
the wall is a waste. It is just an Ego monument for Trump! [1]
VISA OVERSTAYS ( people flying in and entering the country legally then overstaying their Visa limit) per DHS estimates In FY 2016 are 739,478 Double illegal crossings for the same year.
That is where the GAP is and it is a NATIONAL SECURITY issue.
[2]
edited 11th Apr '18 8:43:04 PM by megaeliz
#NotTheOnion
Millcreek School District Arms Teachers with Baseball Bats
"It is the last resort,” said Millcreek School District Superintendent William Hall. “But, it is an option and something we want people to be aware of."
According to Hall, the 16-inch bats were distributed to each teacher, following an in-service training day on how to respond to school shootings.
"We passed them out, with the goal being we wanted every room to have one of these,” said Hall. “Unfortunately, we're in a day and age where one might need to use them to protect ourselves and our kids."
Hall says the bats are primarily "symbolic", but they are now an option for teachers to use, should they need to fight back in a school shooting.
Hall says it cost the district about $1,800 to purchase the bats.
That's not even two feet long!
edited 11th Apr '18 9:21:06 PM by megaeliz
Oh, there's more, just you wait.
The district also conducted an on-line survey to see if the public supports the idea of arming select staff members with guns, if it becomes legal in Pennsylvania.
“We though just putting that one question out there would give us an idea how the community felt,” said Hall. “It was about 70 percent to 30 percent that people would favor that, but we’re not really actively planning that right now.”
Hall says it cost the district about $1,800 to purchase the bats.
Prefab concrete barriers and checkpoints? [1]
◊
Well, I guess if they're attacked by the Taliban they'll be ready at least.
They should have sent a poet.So this is a thing.
Mueller Seeks Subpoenas for 35 Witnesses for Manafort Trial
This is literally all we know about it right now, but woah!
~Rationalinsanity (post #238238
):
![]()
No, it's not legit. From the site:
edited 11th Apr '18 10:54:23 PM by kkhohoho
Oh my...
Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all! In any event, the United States, under my Administration, has done a great job of ridding the region of ISIS. Where is our “Thank you America?”
The last one sort of feels like he got chewed out by someone.
Why Trump Is Panicking. [1]
The raids on his attorney’s files are extremely dangerous for the president.
Trump is right to be concerned about the search of Cohen’s office, but not because it was improper or a violation of attorney-client privilege. In fact, there are established Justice Department procedures
regarding searches of attorney offices. What should concern Trump is that the search of Cohen’s office presumably met the rigorous requirements of those procedures and ultimately resulted in the seizure of communications between Trump and Cohen, according to the Washington Post.
As a starting point, the search of Cohen’s office suggests that he is in very serious legal jeopardy. A federal judge would not have issued the search warrant unless the judge concluded that there was good reason to believe that a crime was committed and that evidence of that crime existed in Cohen’s office. That’s bad news for Cohen, who is reportedly under investigation for bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.
What’s even worse news for Cohen is that federal prosecutors rarely use search warrants in order to obtain documents in white collar investigations. Typically, they use subpoenas that force the defense to review documents and provide only relevant, nonprivileged documents to the government that are organized and formatted so the government can easily access them. (In fact, procedures require prosecutors to “take the least intrusive approach” by considering subpoenas instead of warrants.) If prosecutors resorted to a search warrant in this case, it means they had reason to believe Cohen would not have turned over the appropriate documents via subpoena. In other words, it suggests they have evidence that he tried to obstruct their investigation or mislead investigators.
So instead, federal prosecutors in Manhattan followed Justice Department procedures to obtain a search warrant of Cohen’s office, home and hotel room. To do this, prosecutors would have had to obtain approval from the United States attorney in Manhattan and consult with the Criminal Division of the Justice Department. Rules also obligate prosecutors to establish procedures, such as a “taint team,” to ensure that privileged materials that have been seized aren’t reviewed by investigators.
The Justice Department guidelines also mandate that the search warrant be “drawn as specifically as possible.” This is important because every search warrant lists the “items to be seized.” In the application for the search warrant, the prosecution must establish that there is good reason to believe that those items are evidence of a crime and that those items will be found at the location to be searched. For example, if the prosecutors are investigating a particular bank loan obtained by Cohen, they might have sought to seize documents relating to that loan.
With this in mind, reports that the FBI seized communications between Trump and Cohen should be alarming to Trump because this means that the communications between Trump and Cohen fell within one of the categories of “items to be seized.” To use the prior example, if the FBI sought to obtain documents relating to a bank loan obtained by Cohen, the seized communications between Trump and Cohen were related to the loan that is under investigation.
That is a significant problem for the president—he was communicating with a man under criminal investigation about matters that are under criminal investigation. While some of those communications could be privileged, the “taint team” of attorneys that are walled off from the investigators will determine whether each communication is privileged. Communications that are unrelated to legal advice or are in furtherance of an ongoing crime, are not privileged. Because Cohen’s relationship with Trump is much broader than a typical attorney-client relationship, they may have discussed business matters that are unrelated to legal advice.
Today’s news that the search warrant reportedly sought communications between Trump and others (including Cohen) regarding the suppression of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape raises the stakes even higher for the president. This means that a federal judge reviewed evidence and concluded that there is good reason to believe that those communications would constitute evidence of a federal crime. That means that Trump’s communications were within the scope of the federal criminal investigation even before the FBI conducted their searches.
It’s never good news for a person under investigation when their lawyer’s office is raided by the FBI. Given Cohen’s loyalty, and Trump’s ability to pardon Cohen for federal offenses, Trump is likely unconcerned that Cohen will “flip” on him. Yet Trump was reportedly in “meltdown” mode yesterday, considering whether to fire Attorney General Sessions, Rosenstein and Mueller. He’s wrong to believe that Mueller has acted improperly, but he’s right to be gravely concerned about his communications with Cohen, which are now in the hands of the FBI. Cohen is in serious legal jeopardy, and his communications could lead Mueller to Trump.
edited 12th Apr '18 6:01:18 AM by megaeliz
Trump's red line has always been anyone looking into his business dealings and I'm betting Cohen has plenty of info that got seized relating to that because Cohen is his mob-lawyer enforcer. He's probably ground zero for a ton of shady and potentially criminal stuff that Trump has been up to.
I'd wager Trump is more pissed then ever because he thought that stuff was "off limits" and he's now terrified about what they might know and angry that they are coming after him. He's let slip before he truly believes the DOJ are 'his' to cover for him

I feel like a significant chunk of the objection towards undocumented immigrants in the USA is a case of Right for the Wrong Reasons. Like I said before, a lot of it is just racism.
Disgusted, but not surprised